baixovsbásicoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“baixo” and “básico” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#625
“baixo” frequency rank
#3,747
“básico” frequency rank
4372
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature baixo básico
Definition de pouca estatura: que serve de base

Where the eye mixes baixo and básico

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
baixo
6 ch
básico

Visual trap between baixo and básico

A purely visual mix-up. baixo (/'bai̯.ʃu/) and básico (/ˈba.zi.ku/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4372, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

baixo is recorded at frequency rank #625, classified as anadj, pronounced /'bai̯.ʃu/. básico is at rank #3,747, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈba.zi.ku/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 4372, this pair ranks #70,566 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of baixo vs básico

Shared letters: bio. Private to "baixo": ax. Private to "básico": csá.

"baixo" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "básico" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • baixoabixo · baiox · baixxo · baxio · bbaixo · biaxo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "baixo" for "básico" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/'bai̯.ʃu/ versus /ˈba.zi.ku/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "baixo" or "básico"?
"baixo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #625 in our Portuguese list, against #3,747 for "básico". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "baixo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "básico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #70,566 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "baixo" and "básico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "báltico vs básico". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #70,566 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list